Set Apart

 



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    The last place someone would expect someone's money to be stolen is at church.  I changed my mind one Sunday morning when my friend and I put our purses on a pew in the sanctuary to save our seats before heading to the foyer to drink coffee and socialize. The choir and music director were on stage practicing their songs for the service, while several people listened to the pre-service music.  Not long after sitting down to drink coffee, my friend needed to get something out of her purse. When she went back to where she had left it, she searched through her purse and discovered her billfold had been stolen. A few days later, a staff member informed her that someone had found it in the ladies' restroom.  She expected her credit cards, driver's license, and money to be gone, yet the only thing missing was her birthday money. The church insurance reimbursed her.
Set Apart
How do you forgive when someone steals from you?
What if they used God's house to do their deed?
You would be disappointed and horrified, which is true.
Did evil have to show up and satisfy its greed?
There had to be a spiritual hole in their heart.
Compassion can leave us when we have been robbed.
Yet if you pray for their forgiveness, that sets you apart.
Remember the thief on the cross who sobbed?
Jesus loves others even when they do wrong.
God will open your heart and teach you how to forgive.
If you do, you're showing that your love for God is strong.
Even though it's hard, it's God's way to live.
                                          Patricia Westbrook
    "Ask whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in Heaven may also forgive your trespasses."  (Mark 11:25, NKJV),

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